Change My Life
by Tallis
Summary: Sora is finally starting high school. Kairi is an already popular girl there, but things aren't always what they seem... When Sora starts to have feelings for her, will he be able to get her attention? SK DISCONTINUED
1. Late for the first day

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square-Enix does. But since they're not here... *runs off with Sora* HAHAHAHA! *cough* *cough*

-+-+-+-+-+-

Yep, this is a Sokairi fan fic. It is my first fan fic, and yes I know the plot is already very well explored, but I will try my best to inovate ;) Enjoy!

-+-+-+-+-+-

CHAPTER 1 - Late for the first day 

          "Waaah! I'm gonna be late!"

          Sora, a 15-year-old boy, came running down the stairs, his chocolate brown spiky hair more untidy than usual, meaning he had just woken up.

          "Mom, why didn't you wake me up earlier? It's my first day at the new school!" complained Sora.

          "Oh well, I did try, but you have such a heavy sleep and made no movements at all, so I gave up." said Sora's mother, Rose, very calmly while making breakfast. She was just like his son; chocolate brown hair, though not as spiky, and a round and cute face, but pretty nonetheless. Sora got his blue eyes from his father, but he worked at the main islands so Sora rarely saw him.

          "You didn't even bother to check if I was dead?" Sora asked, amused at his mother's behaviour. She could be really absent-minded, just like him.

          "Geez, Sora, of course you weren't dead" she said, now making some toast. "Now quickly, you have to make your hair, comb your teeth and brush your bed!" 

          "Sure... wait, what?" He asked, confused.

          "Just go."

          A bit angry, Sora went to his bedroom and looked for his uniform. It was pretty nice; a white long-sleeved shirt with a black tie over it, underneath a blue blazer. Pants of the same blue and black shoes completed it. He would be starting high school that day, and the only place with them were the main islands. Since they weren't as hot as Destiny Island, the uniform was made for the cold days.

          Sora got dressed, brushed his teeth and tried to make his spiky hair a bit more tidy - a difficult task. Eventually he gave up and went downstairs again, where his breakfast was already waiting for him on the kitchen table.

          He sat down and started eating. Rose was eating next to him, and she asked "Is that friend of yours, Riku, going to that high school too?"

          The image of a silver-haired boy came to his mind. Riku, his best friend since they were little, was going to the same high school too. "Yep, he is." Sora was relieved he would at least know someone there. "I said I was going to meet him at the port so we could go together."

          "That's nice." Rose replied. 

          Sora got up, finishing his breakfast, then he picked up his bag and headed for the front door.

          "Bye mum!"

          "Bye Sora! Good luck!"

          He rushed to the port, hoping that was going to be a good day. 'Well, I got up with my right foot' he thought, and started smiling in his way to the port.

-+-+-later...-+-+-

          "'Bout time, eh, Sora?"

          Sora looked up at Riku, tired from the running.

          "Mom didn't wake me up at time..." he said, wiping his forehead.

          "Nice excuse," said Riku, smiriking. Sora found that an irritating habit of him. "Anyways, let's go, or else we'll miss the boat."

          Both boys ran to the boat which would take them to the main island. Sora wondered if Riku was as nervous as he was. But then again, he remembered Riku had the ability to adjust quickly to everything quite easily; in fact, he was always complaining he wanted to change a bit, that his life was boring, and that he wanted to meet new places.

          "Hey, Riku..." Sora decided to ask, sitting on the boat. "Are you worried about this whole high school thing?"

          "Um..." he thought for a second, then answered, "no."

          "Really?" Sora insisted.

          "Yep."

          "Are you sure?"

          "Why do you want to know?"

          "Just answer."

          "I already did! No, I'm not nervous!"

          "I don't believe you."

          "Fine, I'm a little bit nervous. Happy now?"

          "Why would I be happy?"

          "But you just..." Riku said, impatient with that conversation that seemed to lead to nowhere.

          "Riku, don't ask me stupid questions!" interrupted Sora, now the one who was angry.

          "But..."

          "Okay, now I'm pissed." said Sora, when the boat arrived. The trip lasted 10 minutes, which was good since they were now very late.

          Sora got out of the boat, leaving a very perplexed Riku behind. 'I should be used to it,' he thought. 'Conversations with Sora are most of the time like that anyways.' Sighing, he headed for the school. Then he realised they were really late, and started running.

          "Riku, wha-?" said Sora, confused, when Riku got past him running like there was no tomorrow. He looked at his watch; it was already 7:30, and school started 7:20.

          "Oh my God!!! Okay, now I'm *really" pissed!" complained Sora, switching to a run too.

          They arrived at the school and looked at the papers on the wall that said the names of the students and in which classes they were in. They were in different classes - Riku was in 2-A, while Sora was in 2-B. Racing up the stairs, the boys reached the second floor. Riku said to Sora "Good luck!" before entering his own classroom.

          Sora's classroom was a bit ahead. He was shaking badly, and there was a strange nauseous feeling in his stomach; he thought like he would throw up any minute now.

          Hoping that wouldn't happen, he opened the door to his classroom slowly.

          "Welcome. You must be the new student."

-+-+-+-+-+-

**A/N:** HAHAHA! Cliff hanger! I love that. Heh. Okay, did you like it? Did you hate it? I plan to continue this story if people like it... and how will I know you liked it? Yep, you've guessed it - by reviewing! So go ahead and give your opinion.

Also, I know there are plenty of mistakes in this chapter. Well, since I'm still studying English (it isn't my native language) that's ought to happen... oh well... if you see something really dreadful, please let me know! =) 

And I think this chapter got a little boring... I promise next one will be better. After all, Sora will get to know new people... and who's the mistery teacher? By the way, I don't know what Sora's last name should be... um, suggestions anyone? =D

Okay, I'll stop this rambling now. Hope you liked this story!

Tallis


	2. Weirdness and friendship walk together

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square-Enix does. Which is such a pity, because I could do so many interesting things with its characters... HAHAHAHA! *cough* *cough*

-+-+-+-+-+-

Sokairi fic. Thanks everyone who reviewed, it meant the world to me! (thanks mishi, BubbleFairy03, Raserei Hojo and juzlovnsora! ^_^) So, as promised, here goes chapter 2. Enjoy! =)

-+-+-+-+-+-

**CHAPTER 2 - Weirdness and Friendship Walk Together**

          "Welcome. You must be the new student."

          Sora gulped when he saw an entire classroom looking right at him. He wished they would look at something else; his nausea wasn't getting any better. Still, he managed to gather strengths and said, "Yes, I-I'm Sora." _But wait, isn't everyone else here new too? Oh, yes, they have junior school here too, so he's probably talking about the ones who got in now..._

The guy, who Sora assumed to be the teacher although he seemed very young - 22 at least - had an intimidating look on his handsome face. Sora also noted he had a scar from the right side of his face to the left side, right above his nose. 

          "I'm Professor Leonhart." he said, very seriously, the rest of the class still staring at them. "But you can call me Leon. By the way, nice first impression, arriving late on your first day," he added, making Sora feel even more embarassed.

          "I'm s-sorry, I..." Sora began, but Leon interrupted.

          "Don't worry. Just don't let that happen again. Now let's see... you can sit down there," he said, pointing to a desk at the back of the class. "behind Miss Kairi."

          The girl in question was red-haired, and very pretty, Sora noticed. When he passed her, she flashed him a grin and he could see bright blue eyes just like his. And, for some reason, he felt his face get a bit hot, but he calculated it must have been that stupid uniform.

          Professor Leonhart, or Leon, was the History teacher, and very strict. Sora made a mental note to himself to not do anything wrong in his classes. When Leon left the class for the other teacher to come in, Kairi turned to him and smiled.

          "Wow, you have a cool name. Sora - it means sky, right?' she said happily. _Boy, she has such a nice voice..._

          Sora kept looking at her pretty blue eyes, until she waved a hand in front of him and said "Hello, is anyone there?". He realised he was staring and quickly said "Oh-oh, sorry, yeah, it means sky. But I don't like it, though." _Good Sora, what a great thing to say to a girl. That you don't like your own name. _"But anyways, what does your mean?"

          Kairi thought for a second and said, "I'm not sure. Something like friendship."

          "That's really cool."

          She smiled. _She has a pretty smile too, _Sora thought.

          In the next minute, the Science teacher arrived. He was the weirdest teacher Sora had ever seen; he had long white-gray hair, and was really tall. His name was Sephiroth.

          "So, you inferior humans, I mean, fellow students", he coughed a bit, and continued. "I'm here to teach you  the wonders of Science, and prove that even maniacal crazy villains can RULE THE WORLD! HAHAHAHA!", Sephiroth sad, laughing uncomtrolably. When he saw the entire class staring at him, he added "Ahem, now let's start with the basics..."

          The following classes were Mathematics, taught by a beautiful woman named Aeris,and English, taught by a serious blond woman named Quistis. Sora payed half attention to them; his eyes were more concentraded in the red-haired girl right in front of him. Kairi answered all the questions the teachers asked, and helped everyone. _She's so kind, pretty, and smart..._

          He heard the school bell ring, meaning it was break time. Sora left the classroom and tried to find Riku, but he wasn't anywhere around, so he decided to eat somewhere and wait for him.

          The only problem was, there was hardly any space for him to sit, for all tables had been taken. He spoted the table where Kairi sat - she was sitting with two other girls, one bouncy and brunette, the other with short dark brown hair and two eyes of different colors. They were giggling. Sora thought it was best not to disturb them, so he went outside the cafeteria.

          Spotting a good empty place behind a tree, he sat there and took out his home-made cookies his mother had made for him. He loved cookies. But while enjoying his cookies, he didn't realise a girl coming from behind him and yelling "HEYA NEW BOY! WHATCHA DOING HERE????"

          He was so scared he dropped his bag with cookies and was choking really hard. "Wha-what-cough-arg-cough-help-", Sora managed to splat out.

          "Aw, sorry for scaring ya pal," the girl said, beating him very hard on the back. "Name's Yuffie. I'm in the same class as you - feeling better now?" she asked, watching carefully Sora recovering from the choking.

          "Yeah, thanks..." Sora apologised, spotting his bag of cookies on the floor. "NOOO! My cookies..."

          "Oops, they seemed really good indeed." said Yuffie, not feeling sorry at all. "Don'cha worry mate, for I'm here to solve all your problems." she added, grinning.

          Sora eyed her carefully. She didn't seem like a person to be trusted - she had that mischevious look on her face he didn't like one bit. Thankfully, he heard a voice he recognised.

          "Hey Sora! Sorry for being late," yelled Riku, running to meet him. He then noticed Yuffie and looked at her the same way Sora did before, suspecting the look on her face. "Who's this?"

          "This is Yuffie, she's in the same class as me..." Sora introduced. "Yuffie, this is my friend Riku."

          She held out her hand for Riku to shake. "What a pleasure to meet you, Riku." Riku accepted the hand suspiciously. The three of them heard the school bell ring again, meaning they should go back to classes.

          "Sora, we have Physical Education now, so we don't have to go back up." Yuffie explained.

          "Oh right, so, see you later Riku." Sora said, waving to Riku, who did the same and went inside the school building.

          Yuffie went to the girls' locker room, while Sora went to the boys' one. Other boys were already changing into their gym uniform, which consisted of shorts and a white T-shirt. Sora found his locker and began to change. When he ended, there were only him and another boy of his class in the room. The boy had sandy-blond hair, and seemed like the esportive type.

          "Hello," Sora asked. Making new friends wouldn't do any bad, would it?

          "Hi there." he answered. The boy got up and introduced himself "I'm Tidus. You are Sora, the late guy, right?"

          Sora felt a bit embarassed. He was now know in his class as the 'late guy'. Great way to start the year. "Yeah. That's me."

          "Hey Sora, can you tell me something?" Tidus asked, and Sora nodded. "Did  put my shorts on the wrong side?"

          Sora found this a very weird question, and fighting the urge to laugh, he said "No, you didn't,why?"

          "Are you sure? Because that happened once, and let me tell you, it wasn't good." he explained, going out of the locker room. Sora followed. "People kept laughing at me, and when I realised, half the school already knew. I was the joke of the entire school for a month."

          "Trust me, it's not on the wrong side." Sora said, wanting to laughed and feeling pity for Tidus at the same time. It seemed like everyone he knew in that school was very weird - but then again, who cared?

          Both boys headed to their P.E. class with coach Cloud. He was another serious type; if he and Leon were left in the same classroom alone, the silence would be bigger than two mute people trying to talk. Sora wondered if they were related in some sort of way.

          But now he felt sure: that was certainly going to be an interesting year.

-+-+-+-+-+-

**A/N: **Yay, chapter 2. Review this one too, please??? *puppy eyes* ^_^ I'll be eternally glad. Anyway, this was more of an introducing chapter than anything else, but it was needed, because Yuffie and Tidus WILL play an important role later on. And I made them really weird, because... I like weird people =D hehe. And Sora is starting to note Kairi, but will she note him? Let's hope so! Next chapter will be more Sora/Kairi centered (and a bit longer... I'm feeling these chapters are way too small, do you think so?). So, until then! Bye!

Tallis


	3. It's only natural

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square-Enix does. Now isn't that really unfair? *cries*

-+-+-+-+-+-

Sokairi fic. I know I posted this chapter really early, but oh well, I got it done soon... so, onto chapter 3! Enjoy! =)

-+-+-+-+-+-

**CHAPTER 3 - It's only natural**

          "GOOD JOB, TIDUS!"

          "THANKS, COACH!" yelled back Tidus. It was P.E. class, and he had just scored a wonderful goal. Sora stared at him in awe; Tidus was really good at sports, just like Riku. He couldn't help but imagine the two of them in a fight - who would win? 

          "But I'd still prefer if this was blitzball." Tidus told Sora from his spot on the camp. Tidus must have noticed the worried look on Sora's face, because he then said "Don't worry. You'll do just fine. Go there and kick everyone's as-"

          "SORA! Come here, it's your turn!" informed Cloud, their P.E. teacher.

          "Aw no..." Sora said, looking at Tidus. The boy gave him the thumbs up, and Sora felt a bit more confident. He headed for the middle of the camp - they were practicing soccer passes and scores. He was never really good at any sport - except maybe sweord fighting, but they didn't have that at school - so he was damn right nervous. _What if I make a fool of myself?_

Tidus passed the ball to him, and he passed to the boy on his right. _Good, everything is going fine. _

          But in that moment he heard a girl screaming on the other side of the fence, where the girls were having their own P.E. class (voleyball) with Tifa. 

          "Yuffie! Look what you did to the poor girl!" one of the girls whined. _That Yuffie, she's always making someone get hurt..._

"Aw, sorry there, Kairi, didn't see ya." came Yuffie's voice. _What??? Kairi was the one who got hurt?_

"SORA, WATCH OUT!" someone yelled, but too late - a ball, which came fom nowhere, hit Sora square in the face really hard. For a moment, everything was unfocused. The coach came to him and asked if he was okay - but little colored starts prevented him from seeing anything.

          "Someone, get him to the infirmary!"

          Sora was carried to the infirmary, and after the school nurse made sure his nose wasn't broken, he got out and saw Yuffie sitting outside in the waiting seats.

          "Heya mate!" she said.

          "What are you doing here?" Sora asked, looking for bruises in her or something like that.

          "Oh well, you see, there was a tiiiiiiiiiny little accident," she hold her fingers really close to indicate that, " with a girl while we were playing, so I had to take her here. Go figure." Yuffie finished, shaking her head.

          Sora remembered the scene - Kairi was the one who got hurt. He immediatly asked "Is Kairi okay?"

          "I think so, yeah" she said, eyeing him suspiciously. Suddenly, there was a mischievous grin growing in her face as she asked "Why do you care so much?"

          He blushed a bit. What was she planning? "Wha-what? What do you mean? I-I don't care that much, I ju-just thought..."

          Her grin only got bigger.

          _Oh no. Here it comes._

"SORA HAS A CRUSH! SORA HAS A CRUUUUSH!!!" Yuffie started to sing loud enough for the entire floor to hear.

          "Psssst, Yuffie! I do not!" Sora said desperatly. _Do I? Oh well, I don't need Yuffie telling the whole school that, truth or not!_

"Yep, you do."

          "Do not!"

          "Do too!"

          "Do not!"

          "Do too!"

          "Do not!"__

"You were blushing. You know what that means?" Yuffie said, still grinning, with a teasing tone. "It means you DO have a crush. Do not argue with me! A crush on Kairi! Well, no wonder, she's pretty, intelligent, and nice. There's nothing to be ashamed about! It's only natural, y' know."

          Sora thought about that for a minute. _It's only natural. _Yes, it was, he could perfectly like Kairi - but they hardly knew each other, they had only one conversation until now and besides, he wasn't what people would call attractive. He was cute, but that's it. At least, in Sora's opinion. To his surprise, Yuffie answered his unasked question.

          "I know what you're thinking, but don't worry, I'll help you get to her." she said, winking at him. "Trust me."

          Sora could only say "Thanks.". He would have to trust Yuffie. After all, she knew his secret already. _Of all the people to trust, it had to be her..._

In that moment, the door to the infirmary opened, and Kairi got out. "Don't worry Yuffie, it was nothing bad." she said, and noticing Sora, she added "Oh hi again Sora! Are you okay? The nurse told me you got hit by a ball right in the face."

          _Damn. _"Yeah, but it's fine now." he answered.

          The three of them stood there silent. Yuffie slapped herself mentally, and made a note to herself to work on Sora's initiative skills. 

          "Soooo, hey Sora, why don't you tell Kairi about that party on Saturday?" she asked, hoping Sora would carry on. But seeing the confused look on his face, she pressed again, "You know, *that* party! The one you were planning to make!"

          Sora stared at Yuffie blankly, and asked "What are you talking about?". Kairi watched confused.

          Yuffie discretly stepped on Sora's foot and then he got it. "Oooooh, *that* party? Right, yeah," he turned to Kairi, "Hey Kairi, we are making a party on Saturday."

          "Oh, that's nice." Kairi said.

          "Invite her, you freak!" Yuffie murmured to Sora.

          "Ah, yes, would you like to come?" Sora asked her. She nodded.

          "Oh, I would be really glad to. Where is it?"

          "Ah - well - where is it again, Yuffie?"

          "In the Moonlight Club, do you know it?" said Yuffie, smiling to Kairi.

          "Yes, I know which one." she then looked at her watch. "Oh my God, we will be late for our last class! What time should I be in that club?"

          "Eight o'clock." Yuffie answered.

          Kairi waved goodbye and rushed to their classroom, leaving Sora and Yuffie behind. "What's this Moonlight Club?" he asked her.

          "You'll see." she answered with a grin.

          Sora didn't like that mischievous grin at all.

-+-+-+-+-+-

**A/N: **Heeey, another chappy. I honestly didn't like this one much, it was pure dialogue and no fun... I'll try to make up for it in the next one. ^_^ So, while you wait, how about reviewing? It makes me VERY happy, you know? And happy author, better chappies, quicker updates. So what's there to lose? Hehehe...

Anyways, in the next chapter, we'll get to know more of Kairi's friends (Did you guess who they are already?) and Yuffie, Tidus and Riku will try to help Sora with the Kairi situation. Don't miss it! =)

Tallis


	4. The Giant Finger of Doom

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square-Enix does. C'mon, did you really think I do? Tsk, tsk.

-+-+-+-+-+-

SoraxKairi fic. Again, I want to send a HUGE thank you for everyone who was kind enough to review! You are the best! Now onto chapter 4... enjoy! =)

-+-+-+-+-+-

**CHAPTER 4 - The Giant Finger of Doom**

          The next day Sora woke up thinking about the day before. So much had happened only on his first day at that high school. He had made new friends, beat his own record in making a fool of himself, and had a crush on the prettiest and most popular girl in their year.

          After getting dressed, eating breakfast and saying goodbye to his mother, Sora got in the boat that would take him to the main island, as Riku had already gone ("You're such a lazy bum, Sora! I won't be waiting for you forever!"). It was still Tuesday, but now he felt insecure for Saturday. _What the heck is Yuffie planning to do? And what is that Moonlight Club?_

He got out of the boat and was heading to the high school. His mind being elsewhere, Sora didn't notice someone calling for him.

          "Hey there, Sora!". It was Riku running to meet Sora.

          But Sora continued walking towards the school, "Oh hi Ri-", and forgot to stop, colliding with a pole. "Owww... how many times have I got hurt in the head already..." Sora whined.

          "Geez Sora, be more careful while walking!" said Riku chuckling.

          "B-but it wasn't my fault!" Sora looked quickly to his sides as if to spot the guilty person. "Did you see who it was?" he asked Riku when he saw nobody around.

          "Sora...that was a pole, for God's sake." Riku explained, sweatdropping.

          "Oh, right," Sora turned to the pole. "Sorry there, Mr. Pole."

          Riku felt like slapping Sora in the head for being so dum, but in that exact moment something grabbed him from behind through his neck and Riku gasped.

          "Helloooooo dear Riku~~!" said a squeaky feminine voice. Riku rolled his eyes as the girl dangled behind him while grabbing his neck, since she was so small. Sora took a look and saw that it was a brunette girl from Riku's class, bouncing up and down.

          "Ack-no-not-you-again-Selphie!" Riku managed to choke out, obviously suffocating from the girl's weight.

          "Aww, you're no fun!" said the bouncy girl disappointed. Spotting Sora, she screamed "Oh my God! Is that your friend, Riku? Oooh, he's so cute! Can I hug him? Can I? Can I?" she asked Riku, looking like a five-year-old. Riku just mumbled "Whatever" as he was still recovering from the suffocation.

          Sora frowned his eyebrows at his friend, but before he could do anything the girl jumped on him and both fell to the ground with a loud _thud._

          "Heee, now *you're* fun!" she said, poking Sora's cheek slightly, "That one there," she pointed at Riku, "Is always so moody it's not nice to play with him." Riku scowled at her, but she took no notice. Instead, she turned to Sora again, and said "By the way, I'm super-duper-cool Selphie! Nice to meet ya!"

          "Er-" _God, she seems worse than Yuffie! _"I'm Sora. Nice to meet you too."

          "Oh yeah, Sora, Yuffie just told me everything." Riku said, smirking. _Oh no! Does he know that I like Kairi? I swear I'll kill Yuffie - I should have done that sooner... - Riku will now tease me even more than before!!!_

"Everything what? What am I missing?" asked Selphie, looking from Riku's smirking face to Sora's I-can't-believe-she-did-that face. Selphie hated to be left out, after all, she was one of the most popular girls at school, she HAD to know everything, didn't she? But as none of the boys spoke, Selphie decided to use her secret weapon. _Yes, the weapon will teach them! Heh!_

"C'mon, tell me... or else..." she said misteriously.

          "Or else what?" Sora asked, not sure if he really wanted to hear the answer.

          "Or else I'll have to..." Selphie continued even more misteriously. "I'll have to..."

          Sora and Riku listened carefully. Selphie could be bouncing and annoying, but you better take her seriously when she's NOT bouncing or annoying.

          "I'll have to," she pointed her finger to the sky dramatically then yelled, "use my GIANT FINGER OF DOOM and poke you to DEATH!"

          Fortunetly, the school bell rang that minute so Selphie said with a grin "Oh well, maybe next time, eh! See ya later Sora cutie! See ya in class Riku~!" and with that, she ran to the school entrance and raced up the stairs to classroom 2-A. 

          Sora had a puzzled look on his face. "Giant finger of what...?"

          "Don't even try to understand." Riku said looking like he had been through that for a million times. "She's always like that to everybody. Incredibly annoying..."

          Sora chuckled. "How did you get friends with her?"

          "Well, apparently, she has a new 'victim' every week, and guess who was this week's victim?" said Riku with a scowl. "She just won't leave me alone. But I suppose she's like that to everyone, so go figure."

          Sora was laughing harder, but Riku ignored. "The point is," he continued, "She's one of Kairi's best friends. We could use that to our advantage."

          _So he did know. _Sora remembered the day before, when he saw Kairi sitting with her friends at the cafeteria, giggling. One of them must have been Selphie. 

          They got up to the second floor, each one to their own classes. Sora sat on his usual place behind Kairi, hoping he'd be able to talk a little bit more with her. He saw Yuffie sitting on a desk in the line close to the windows; she had her hands behind her head, tilting the chair back and forth looking very relaxed. _Typical of Yuffie._

Running his eyes through the class again, Sora spotted Tidus; he sat more to the front, and was talking animatedly with a friend. When he saw Sora looking at him, he waved and grinned at the smaller boy. Sora smiled back. _Must be talking about blitzball. I should really introduce him to Riku someday._ But then he thought again, and realised hat wouldn't be good. _They'd probably cause the next World War or something. _

          Kairi had just arrived in the class. She thankfully (for Sora) sat in front of him. "Good morning, Sora!" she said. "Almost got late today."

          Sora could only manage to say back a "G-good morning, Kairi." He could almost hear Yuffie's muffled laugh next to him. Brushing Yuffie out of his mind, he remembered the party. "S-so, still up to Saturday?"

          Kairi smiled. "Yeah. What will your costume be?"

          _Costume? What is she talking about?_

"Eh?" Sora asked.

          "You know, that Moonlight Club is known for hosting costume parties. Surely that's what you were planning, right?" she asked, eyeing Sora suspiciously.

          "Yeah, yeah, sure. I still haven't thought of a costume for me..."

          "Ah, me neither. And, will it be okay if I bring my friends, Selphie and Yuna?"

          "Sure, no problem." _Yuna must have been the one with eyes with different colors. She was a bit weird..._

          "Oh, good, then." sai Kairi, turning her back to Sora to watch the Geography teacher entering class. 

          Sora spotted Yuffie and glared at her. _Why didn't she mention I would have to wear a costume?! _Yuffie just smiled back, and winked.

-+-+-+-+-+-

**A/N: **Hi! Did everybody have a good Easter? I did ^_^ *eating lots of chocolate* Hehe... Nothing I said that would happen last chapter actually happened (lol, I hope you're not disappointed!)...anyway, the Giant Finger of Doom thing is copyright of my friends on Demon Squirrels Forum (sorry Dark Chii and Yuna for stealing that idea... ^_^;). And I'm glad people are liking this story *wipes away tears of joy*. I honestly thought "Aw, why bother, it's really crappy and nobody will like it anyway...", but when I saw my first reviews I felt... loved ^_^ it's a really good feeling. You should all try that! =D Lol. Let's see if we can get to 15 reviews, okay? *crosses fingers*

**A few personal thank yous:**

**juzlovnsora: **My most faithful reader ^_^ hehe, thank you so much for reviewing, you sure made me happy. Thank you for loving my story, it's the first one I write so that meant a lot to me =) By the way, I liked *your* stories! Especially Tortured Love, but it's so sad... *almost cried*

**BubbleFairy03: **It's so nice to see you again! ^_^ Thank you so much for your comment, and I didn't make Kairi a complete snob because I hate characters like that =) (and I believe many people agree, right? =D). Yes Sora will try to impress Kairi, but you'll have to wait for the future chapters to find out how ;) well, seeing as Yuffie will be helping him, you can probably see what's coming, ne? =D

**Kingdom*Hearts309: ** Thanks! I had fun writing that part ^_^ By the way, I really like your story   
"Let's Be Gay!" =D It's very funny!

**Black-Rose72: ** You're right, she is! =D Thanks for your review!

So, see ya next chapter! =)

Tallis


	5. Prepare for the party

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square-Enix does. Honestly, I would certainly not be writing crappy fanfics if I DID own Kingdom Hearts, now would I?

-+-+-+-+-+-

SoraxKairi fic. This is a more funny chapter overall, so almost no Kairi ;_; But next chapter will be totally dedicated to Sora and Kairi, so don't be disappointed! Thanks for all the amazing reviews, so onto chapter 5. Enjoy! =)

-+-+-+-+-+-

**CHAPTER 5 - Prepare for the party**

          "Okay, I already made the reservation at the Club, so really all we have to do is find a costume for all of us." said Yuffie at break time of Wednesday.

          They were all sitting on a table of the cafeteria, all planning to help Sora with the party. A total of 5 people. Sora, Yuffie, Riku, Tidus and Wakka (both who had agreed in participating of the plan when Yuffie had told them - Wakka was an old friend of Tidus, and was in class 2-A). _How did this group get so big?_

"Nothing embarassing, ya?" asked Wakka. He had a funny accent, and an athletic look that very much resembled Tidus'. 

          "Oh, no, no, just something that covers your faces and nobody recognises you - except for us, of course." Yuffie explained. She seemed like a general commanding her troops. All it was missing was the boys saying "Yes, sir!" to every order she gave them. "Anyway," she continued, "meet me at the Costume Shop after class. Don't skip it!" and with that, they all got back onto their respective classes.

          "Yuffie, don't you think you're overreacting a bit?" Sora asked with panic in his voice.

          "I think you need all the help you can get, dear little friend." she said, grinning. "And besides, I could do with some fun. Haven't had any for a while." 

          Sora decided there was no use discussing with Yuffie, so he brushed the thought aside, hoping he could deal with that later. Instead, he found it much more comfortable to just stare at Kairi's hair. _Kairi's very pretty hair... Kairi's red hair, it must be so soft, it smells really nice too..._

Unfortunetly, he didn't hear the Geography teacher, an old hot-tempered man named Cid, asking him a question on the subject he was teaching. Something to do with space, other planets, all that babbling.

          "So, kiddo, do ya know the answer?" Cid asked, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

          _What? What question? _"N-no, I don't know, sir..." Sora answered, embarassed.

          "Heh, for a boy with the head on space you don't know much about it eh?" He laughed more than necessary at his own joke, then said "You better pay more attention kiddo, or else you won't leave this class next year, ya understand?"

          Sora nodded. _Great, first week of school, and I already get a warning by a teacher._ _Nice way to impress Kairi._

Thankfully the classes ended soon and Sora ound himself heading to the Costume Shop as Yuffie had told them to. Surely enough, Yuffie was standing in front of the store, beating her foot on the ground with her hands on her hips.

          "Why did you take so long?" she asked, impatient.

          "Yuffie, I took like, five minutes to get here." Sora explained.

          "Whatever. The rest of the guys are arriving now too, those lazy bums, so let's get started." Yuffie said, spotting Tidus, Wakka and Riku approaching the shop. They all got in, and looked for something they could wear. Unfortunetly, most of the outfits they refused to even try - such as clowns, vampires ("Aw c'mon Riku, you would look great as one!" Yuffie told him, receiving a killing glare in response), and other embarassing things.

          In the end, Riku reluctantly agreed in wearing the vampire costume. Wakka picked up a Sherlock Holmes outfit, with the hat, cloat, and sunglasses to hide his face a bit more. Tidus, having found nothing he liked, let Yuffie pick one for him - terrible choice. She made him wear a Batman costume, complete with the mask, utility belt and cape. Yuffie herself chose a ninja outfit ("I always wanted to be one!" she had told Sora), but Sora still hadn't decide.

          "Come on Sora, pick anything and let's go!" said an angry Riku. 

          "Wait, I can't find anything good..." Sora said. It was true - he surely wasn't going as Goofy from that Disney cartoon. Yuffie, however, had already thought of a solution.

          "How about..." she moved through the tons of clothes and attires, until she found what she was looking for. It was a prince costume, probably taken from some of those fairy tales by Disney. "This one?"

          "Why a prince costume?" Sora asked, confused.

          "Something tells me Kairi will be going as a pretty princess Saturday night" Yuffie answered, grinning. "And there's no princess without a prince, right?"

          "How do you know?"

          "Feminine intuition." was all Yuffie responded. 

          They payed for the costumes and left to their houses. Sora and Riku took the boat to Destiny Islands, as usual. 

          "You better be grateful, because we're doing this all because of you." Riku said, when they arrived on the island.

          Sora smiled. "Thanks. For everything."

          "You should be." Riku said. But then he turned to Sora again and asked, smiling, "You're not going to screw this up, are you?"

          "I hope not" was all Sora could say. Now that he thought about it, he didn't have much experience in talking to girls, especially Kairi. He got all nervous and didn't manage to say a word. _Oh, I can so screw this up._

          "You better work on what you'll say when you meet Kairi on Saturday," Riku said as if reading the other boy's mind. "Don't wanna make a fool of yourself, right? Oh, I guess it's a bit late for that, isn't it?" he completed, laughing.

          "Hey! It's not funny!" Sora said, pouting. "Well... I thought I should start with, 'Hi,'. What do you think?"

          "Yeah, 'Hey' is so out of the season!" Riku said, doing a perfect imitation of Selphie when she talked about clothes.

          Sora noted that. "I think you're spending way too much time with that Selphie girl."

          "I agree." Riku sighed. "It's not as if I wanted to, though."

          Sora laughed. Then the two boys headed to their own homes, Sora thinking about Kairi, and the club.

          _I'm so NOT going to screw this up._

-+-+-+-+-+-

**A/N: **I feel like I haven't been centering much on the romance, don't you think? Oh well, it's just that I really enjoy writing the funny parts =) But as I said above, the next chapter will be the party, so Sora/Kairi fluff is guaranteed! ;) Plus I really needed to "prepare the ground" before they got together. So don't abandon me now, please? ;_; *makes puppy eyes* And I'd really appreciate if you told me what you thought of the story, so please review! ^_^

**A few personal thank yous (sorry I didn't include everyone):**

**Fruity and Delicious: **Oh well, yeah, that was wrong. But it wasn't on purpose - in my A/N on the first chapter I said English wasn't my native language, so there ARE lots of mistakes in this story, I won't deny, but I try my best not to make them. Plus, I'm my own beta-reader. I'm surprised I didn't see anyone scream "You are killing English!" or something like that yet O_o; So I'm sorry for all the mistakes. And Kairi is not meant to be a Mary Sue (she is NOT perfect, you'll see later ;) ). Please forgive me - and thanks for your review!

**BubbleFairy03: **Yay! Other faithful reviewer ^_^ Your review totally made my day. No, Yuffie and Selphie aren't related (Selphie is the most hyper, popular and fashion one, while Yuffie is more of a trouble-maker or tomboy. Hope this clarified =) ). Yeah, an argument between Cloud and Leon would be funny, thanks for your idea! ^_^

**Raserei Hojo: **I'm glad you liked Sephy. I really like him too, but his part on that chapter was really small =D And thanks for pointing out my mistakes, it's just that in my language the "s" sometimes has the sound of a "z", so that confuses me... _

**Riyoji Jeremishou: **Hey, another crazy Sephy fan ^_^ lol! And yep, Ansem is in fact in this story, but he won't show up for a while (he might be a bit OOC too... but I'll try my best ;) )  
  


**juzlovnsora: ** Thanks for your comments, and I like Sora dressed like that too but I already thought of a costume for him ^_^ it's a bit crappy as you've seen in this chapter, but anyway... =D  
  
**MoonFlow-Kairi:  **Thank you! And you were eating cookies too? Lol =D Thanks again for your review, I'd be eternally glad if you think this is one of your faves ^_^ *feels loved***** =)

See ya guys next chapter! =)

Tallis


	6. The Princess and the Masquerade

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square-Enix does. You should probably know that by now, but anyways...

-+-+-+-+-+-

SoraxKairi fic. Yay, it's finally the day of the party! ^_^ SoraxKairi fluff as promised. 1000 thank yous for everyone who reviewed, I love you all! Now, to chappy 6. Enjoy! =)

-+-+-+-+-+-

**CHAPTER 6 - The Princess and the Masquerade**

          Thursday and Friday had passed quickly, basically only with constant reviews of Yuffie's "plan of genius", as she had named it. Sora spent the entire morning decorating what he was supposed to say, and good ways to start a conversation.

          Yuffie had told him to get around at the club by 7 o'clock for the preparations. So when it was time, Sora followed Yuffie's instructions and found the Moonlight Club. It was big, and the logo on top of the entrance was shining and alternating between green and yellow lights. There was also a flashing moon right next to it. Sora entered the club and saw Yuffie talking to the waiters.

          "Heya Sora!" she said, approaching the boy. "Everything's ready. I invited a few selected people too, heh!" she finished, taking a list out of her pocket.

          "Are you sure it is going to work?" Sora asked. After all, that was _Yuffie. _

          "Of course it will, or else the plan wouldn't be called The-Very-Cool-Yuffie's-Super-Special-Infallible-Plan-To-Make-Sora-And-Kairi-Get-Together." Yuffie breathed, then completed "Or TVCYSSIPTMSAKGT for short."

          Sora stared at her. "Riiiight."

          "The only thing missing is that we need to change... oh there you guys are!"

          Tidus, Wakka and Riku had entered the main hall from the changing room, already in their costumes. Tidus seemed like he'd rather be anywhere else than there (But then again, who wasn't?). He was wearing a very funny Batman costume, he couldn't breathe with the mask on, and the utility belt kept falling. Wakka's Sherlock was completely ruined by his more athletic body, so the coat was too small to fit him (the funny accent and orange hair didn't help either). Riku, however, was absolutely creepy as a vampire - he looked like Dracula himself, with false blood dripping from his mouth, and fake teeth and a black cape completed the look.

          "Wow, they're pretty nice, right Sora?" asked Yuffie, smiling. Sora just nodded while bitting his lip to prevent him from laughing at his friends' faces.  "Tidus, put the damn mask ON - now! - I don't care if you die because you cannot breathe, just make sure you wear the mask! - Okay, Sora, you can go change."

          Sora went inside the changing room and put on his outfit. At first he felt ridiculous, but then he realized it wasn't so bad. After all, it wouldn't be so bad to be Kairi's prince, right? _Well, at least I'm not a Batman... _

Yuffie handed him a mask and hat as soon as he got out of the room. "Here, wear these." she said.

          "Why?"

          "Kairi won't need to know *you're* Sora." Yuffie explained.

          "Why not?"

          "Well, you would be too shy to do anything if she actually thought it was you. But if you act like you're someone else, you'll feel more confident." said Yuffie proudly of her geniousity.

          It kind of made sense. _How does Yuffie know that much about me? Feminine intuition?_ In the end, Sora agreed and wore the hat and the mask.

          A few minutes later, the first guests arrived. Most of them Sora didn't know, others he recognised as his classmates. They were dressed in all sorts of things: fairies, monsters, famous people, Spongebob, anything you could imagine.

          _What if she doesn't come?_

But she came.

          Kairi entered the club followed by Yuna and Selphie. Kairi was indeed dressed as a princess, and she was very pretty. _Wow, Yuffie *is* good with that intuition thing. _She was wearing a long blue shining dress with white layers above it, with a very beautiful crown around her head which made her look even more angelical.

          Selphie came as a fairy and wore a pretty pink dress. Yuna wore a simply amazing kimono, and she was looking around the club shyly.

          Yuffie waved to the girls and they came to meet the group. Selphie squealed as usual. "Oooh, it's so nice to see you all! Aaah, Riku~! You're sooo scary!"

          Riku just rolled his eyes in response. Tidus and Wakka laughed.

          "How come you're not dressed?" Yuna asked looking at Yuffie, who was still wearing her regular clothes. Sora had never seen Yuna so closely before; she had a... mysterious air around her, but she was pretty nonetheless. Her voice was as pure as snow.

          "I was just going to do that so, excuse me!" Yuffie replied, leaving for the changing room, but when she passed Sora, she whispered in his ear, "Invite Kairi to dance, won't you?"

          Wakka and Tidus decided to grab some food, Selphie dragged a very reluctant Riku to the dance floor, and Yuna was asked to dance by another guy, so Sora was left to talk to Kairi.

          "Hey Kairi." he started.

          "Hi, but-" Kairi seemed confused, and raised an eyebrow. "how do you know my name? Have I met you before?"

          _Oh yeah, she doesn't know I'm Sora. _"Uh, no, no, but Yuffie told me your name," lied Sora, taking care of also changing the voice a bit.

          "Oh. So, what's your name?"

          "Ah, it's, well," Sora picked the first name that came to his mind. "My name is Donald." _Donald?! What kind of a name is Donald?!? Stupid Disney cartoons..._

"Nice to meet you. Can I call you Don?" Kairi asked. Sora saw she was trying to hide a giggle, and with a *good* reason.

          "Y-yeah, all right." he said with an uneasy smile. "Hey, do you wanna dance?"

          "Of course!"

          Both of them headed to the dance floor and started to dance along the agitated music, not even bothering to follow the correct steps. Sora didn't feel embarassed at all, just being there with Kairi, even making her laugh with funny dances. Soon, both Sora and Kairi were dancing like two maniacs, imitating robots, and inventing new steps, laughing hard and drawing the attention of the entire club. But somehow they didn't care. It was just the two of them, and nobody else mattered.

          The music ended, and instead came a romantic song. Tidus invited Yuna to dance with him, and she accepted with a smile. Riku, looking extremely dizzy from dancing with the hyper Selphie, refused to dance that other one with her (His exact words were "I WILL NEVER DANCE WITH THIS INSANE GIRL AGAIN FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!", but it came close). 

          "Er, we don't have to dance this one, if you don't want to..." said Sora, uncomfortable. It had been fun earlier, but that was a *romantic* song, and as much as he'd like to dance it with her, he wasn't sure *she* felt the same for him.

          Much to the boy's surprise Kairi responded "Oh, I don't mind." She put an arm around his back and holded Sora's hand with her own. Sora felt a bit embarassed with so close contact with her, but that feeling was soon switched for the one of joy. _A few days ago I felt like I couldn't even get near her, but now... I guess I'm not such a bad dancer after all, heh._

After a few moments of dance, Kairi rested her head on Sora's shoulder (he wasn't much taller than her). Sora felt his face get red, and hoped Kairi wouldn't notice.

          "Sorry, I'm a bit tired." she mumbled. "We sure rocked back there, don't you think?" she said, smiling.

          "No problem. And, you dance very well." said Sora, feeling like he could stay like that forever if Kairi didn't leave.

          "Heh, if that crazy dance was dancing very well, then I'm like Madonna!" Kairi said, laughing. "I'm usually terrible at this. By the way, if I step on your foot, I'm sorry."

          "Don't worry, you won't." Sora smiled.

          Sora could now visualize the beautiful crown more closely.

          "This is a very pretty crown."

          "Oh, thanks. It was my grandmother's. She told me she gained this from a real prince, but I don't know if it's true."

          "Really? I thought you were truly a princess and that was your actual crown."

          "Heh, no way!"

          "For someone so beautiful, it's natural." Sora didn't know what made him so poetic that night, but he thanked heavens for whoever sent that gift at that moment. Kairi stopped dancing and looked at him, her sapphire eyes glowing. Their faces were so close, Sora could feel the girl's breath.

          Sora saw Kairi getting closer to him, and she said in a low voice, "You're not different from a prince either." She leaned closer, giving Sora a soft kiss on the lips.

          They were barely aware that the whole hall stopped to watch the scene, and that one girl was mentally praising herself from behind the music boxes.

          "Man, I should really write an advice book." thought Yuffie. 

-+-+-+-+-+-

**A/N: **Hello! I hope you all liked this chapter. I spent sooo much time thinking of a good way for this to go (I wasn't sure if Kairi should kiss Sora, if Sora should kiss Kairi or if they shouldn't even kiss at all) _ In the end, I didn't know if it was good. And guess who's gonna tell me? That's right, YOU, my dear friend. So go ahead and press that pretty little purple button down there and feed me with reviews! ^_^ 

**A few personal thank yous:**

**Surfing Aimlessly: **Thank you so much! Your review really made me happy. And thanks for wishing me luck! =)

**Fruity and Delicious: **I'm getting better! Woohoo! Anyways, I'd be REALLY happy if you can be my beta-reader. So... I guess I'll have to e-mail you the next chapter (if you tell me your e-mail, that is _)?

Till next chapter! =)

Tallis


	7. Partners, or more?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square-Enix does. But that doesn't mean I can't make strange crazy high school love stories with its popular characters, so HA!

-+-+-+-+-+-

SoraxKairi fic. Are you wondering how Sora and Kairi felt after the night of the party? Don't worry, it's all written in here... chapter 7 now for all of ya! =)

-+-+-+-+-+-

**CHAPTER 7 - Partners, or more?**

          Kairi leaned back from the kiss and looked into Sora's sky blue eyes. He was in complete shock. _Did Kairi just kiss me?!? _

          Before he could do anything, Kairi picked Sora's mask and took it off. Immediatly, she let it fall on the floor. She had recognized him... what would Sora do now?

          _Think of something, quick! _But as he tried to think of some action, Kairi blushed deeply and started to talk.

          "I'm s-sorry, I-I ju-just wasn't... wasn't...I..." she said slowly, feeling embarassed with the situation. Sora opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. Kairi then turned to leave. Selphie and Yuna followed her.

          _Did Kairi get disappointed when she saw it was me? Maybe when we meet at school she will hate me for not telling her who I was, for taking advantage of her, or something... _Sure, none of that was true, but Sora's mind was now locked on not-thinking-well mode, so he started to think of all the bad things that could happen...

          All of his friends had worried looks on their faces. Tidus tried to make Sora feel better ("C'mon Sora, I'm sure she's just a bit confused..."), but he wasn't listening. He was confused himself. So he just headed home without saying a word.

*

          Unfortunetly for Sora, there was something called school. And a person whose name was Kairi attended that school, so he would have to face her one time or another. 

          When he got there on Monday morning, Kairi hadn't arrived. He sighed, and sitted on his usual place in the back of the classroom 2-B. Yuffie entered that exact minute, and gave signs of trying to talk to him, but gave up when she saw the mixed look of worry and fear on Sora's face. 

          Kairi came into the classroom a few minutes later. Spotting Sora, she blushed a bit and sat on her desk, avoiding the boy's gaze. Maybe he would have forgotten about Saturday night? What was she thinking when she kissed him? It wasn't normal for her to act like that... and although Kairi did like the kiss, she would never admit it.

          "Hello class! Today we..." said Mr Sephiroth, arriving at the classroom, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. The school cleaner, a huge man named Barret, gave Sephiroth a note saying it was from the director. The teacher read the note, and mumbled some words while doing so.

          "Right...right...of course..." Sephiroth read, "by the end of the year...right...what? I can't believe it! Ah, of course, that Professor Aerith, she must have told him I'm supposedly a 'crazy maniacal evil guy that can't teach!'! I KNEW I didn't like that woman from the moment I saw her..." he said with a strange glow in his eyes. "But what she doesn't know is that the director is my buddy, so HA!" 

          Sephiroth coughed a bit, then continued with his class. "Anyway, as I was saying, today you will be divided in pairs to work on the science project about ecossystem you'll have to deliver by the middle of the year. I'll call out the names of the pairs, so get together when I say your name." 

          "Harley and Tidus!"

          Tidus nodded to the friend next to him and both sat together and started discussing about their work.

          "Maria and Yuffie!"

          The girl named Maria had a scared look on her face as she turned to Yuffie slowly. Yuffie just shrugged and grinned friendly at the other girl.

          Sora thought for a minute. _Please, let me be with Kairi... _But, wait, wasn't he too embarassed to even look at Kairi's face right now? Why would he want to work with her? But considering his luck, it surely wouldn't...

          "Kairi and Sora!"

          _Crap._

Kairi turned to look at Sora. They both sat there uncomfortably as the teacher continued to call out names. They would be science partners to the rest of the semester.

          "So..." Kairi decided to take the iniative. "Why don't we make a model for our project?"

          "Oh, yeah, that's great."

          "Yeah."

          They looked at each other's faces silently, without thinking of anything else to say. Fortunetly, the school bell rang and they were off to break time soon enough. While Sora made his way out of the classroom, he felt a hand grabbing him from the back. It was Yuffie.

          "Okay Sora. If you really wanna get real with Kairi, you're gonna have to do better than that." she said angrily.

          "But... I don't know if she was happy with that other night..." said Sora, looking down.

          "Of course she did! That's why she's all shy!" Yuffie said. Sora looked at her now and raised an eyebrow. "That's right, she is shy because she can't admit she liked that night. Didn't you ever asked yourself why Kairi doesn't have a boyfriend, being so popular?"

          Actually, Sora had never thought about that. Why didn't Kairi have a boyfriend? Surely guys must ask her out every day, but he never saw her accept anything. Sora couldn't think further on the subject because that exact moment Riku came to him with nobody else than... Selphie, of course.

          "Sora, if you don't move we won't be able to get tables at the cafeteria, let's go!" Riku said, grumpy as usual. Yuffie told him they were discussing Kairi and Sora's situation when Selphie squealed. They were used to it by now, though.

          "Aaah, I never would have thought that *that* hot guy at the part was Sora!" said Selphie giggling. Everybody rolled their eyes, but Selphie continued anyway. "But I have heard enough from the 'oooh so cute prince Sora' on Sunday. Now can we get down and eat something?"

          Selphie turned to the stairs and started to walk away. "WAIT, SELPHIE!" yelled Sora, Yuffie and Riku together. She obeyed.

          "What?"

          "What do you mean by 'you have heard enough from Sora on Sunday'?" asked Yuffie, curiously.

          "Ah, that. Well, Kairi couldn't stop talking about him for a *minute*, if you understand me. She was all like, 'Oh-my-God, I can't believe I did that, but you know, he said so nice things to me, I thought it wouldn't be a problem', and I was like, 'But it isn't a problem, after all, you know Sora, right?' and she then was like 'Yeah...' and I said, like 'And you liked the kiss, right?' and she then said 'Yeah...'"

          Sora couldn't believe that. _Is that true? Kairi said she *liked* to be with me, to kiss me?_ He looked at Yuffie and Riku, and to his amusement, both carried identical smirks on their faces.

          "I knew it! I just *knew* it! Feminine intuitions, I say!" said Yuffie proudly.

          "Feminine intuition?" asked Riku, raising an eyebrow at Yuffie. "What a load of crap."

          "You never question a girl's intuition, you stupid giant brat!" snapped Yuffie.

          "What did you just call me, you annoying little weirdo?" snapped back Riku.

          Feeling that argument could go on for hours, Sora went to the cafeteria hoping he could talk to Kairi and maybe sort things out. He was feeling more confident now. He saw her sitting on the leftmost table, talking animatedly to Yuna.

          "Hey, Kairi," said Sora, arriving at the girls' table. Kairi looked at him with a confused expression.

          "Hi, Sora. What's up?"

          "Well, I was thinking that, we, maybe...uh..." Sora started to say, but he noticed Yuna was staring at him; he couldn't tell his feelings for Kairi if he was being followed by a pair of different-colored eyes. So, he tried to invent something so that they could talk privetly. He remembered the science project. "ah, yeah, you know, the science project? Well, I was thinking that, uh, we could go to my house, and, er, do the model there, if you'd like."

          Kairi nodded. "O-okay, then... tomorrow after school then?"

          "Yes, that's fine." Sora then remembered Kairi didn't know where his house was. "Since you don't know where it is, I can take you there."

          She smiled, and the boy smiled back. It was a good plan; they could do the project, and maybe even talk about the recent events...

          Sora was so happy he wasn't even bothering the constant arguments between Yuffie and Riku on the table.

          "I'm the right one!" said Yuffie.

          "No, I am!" said Riku.

          "Sora, who is right???" both said, glaring at Sora.

          But Sora just smiled.

          "I believe _I_ am, my dear friends."

-+-+-+-+-+-

**A/N: **Phew, I took quite a while thinking about a good beginning to this chapter. I wasn't going to make Kairi found out the masquerade prince was Sora yet, but then I thought the story would move too slowly (even slower than it already is =D) if I didn't. So, if you want to know what will happen next, Sora will find out more about Kairi's personal life, and that she isn't so perfect as she seems. Is that a good thing? Wait and find out ;)

**A few personal thank yous:**

**juzlovnsora: **Hey if it's not one of my faithful readers/reviewers ^_^ And you guessed what was going to happen in this chapter!!! I wasn't really sure if Kairi should take Sora's mask off (see A/N above) but then I read your review and I thought it was a good idea. Anyway, thanks for your comments, hope to see you here again!=)

**MoonFlow-Kairi: **Lol, please don't be confused. This chapter must have clarified a bit =) and now that you mention it, that scene does in fact looks like the one in Cardcaptors the movie! I loved that movie ^_^

**BubbleFairy03: **Oh my God, congratulations on your birthday!!! I'm posting this chapter as a gift for you, okay? ;) As for the InuYasha thing, I didn't read the manga much but I saw the anime, and I agree that Miroku is very funny! Have you seen the episode when Sango says "You haven't ever asked me that." Then he stares at her and grabs her hand: "Sango, would you bear my child?" "You don't have to ask me now!!" Lol, that was hilarious!

**Zilly: **Actually, I've never tasted peanut butter.(weird question, but anyway) =D Thanks for your review!

I'm going to take off now. See ya next chapter! ^_^ Please review if you don't mind =)

Tallis


	8. Give it a try

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square-Enix does. Take THAT, you stupid lawyers.

-+-+-+-+-+-

SoraxKairi fic. Now, here's chapter 8 for all of ya! Also, thanks juzlovnsora for the ideas for this chapter - she should be writing this story instead of me :D lol! Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

-+-+-+-+-+-

**CHAPTER 8 – Give it a try**

          "Very well done, Miss Yuffie."

          It was History class with Professor Leonhart, and he was just showing the class Yuffie's perfect score on an History essay.

          "If you all payed attention, like Yuffie here, you would all get top marks instead of the usual C's and D's I always have the _pleasure _to correct." Leon said, looking at the class and eyeing Sora for a bit longer. Then, he turned to Yuffie, and smiled at her. 

          Of course, all the girls' jaws dropped. Nobody, _nobody _ever saw Leon smile, at least the students, and that perky weirdo girl named Yuffie made him smile. The girls eyed Yuffie enviously, because pratically all of them drooled when they were near Leon, him being so handsome. But Yuffie didn't seem to care, as always - she just grinned (but Sora knew it was more of a smirk) to all of them, calmly.

          A few minutes later, the school bell rang meaning the students could all go home. Kairi waited for Sora on the school's main hallway, so he could lead her to his house as planned.

          The trip to Sora's house was a silent and uncomfortable one. It was clear that neither of them was still acting normally towards each other, but fortunetly it didn't take long and they reached Sora's house after the boat ride to Destiny Island.

          Sora opened the door. "C-come in, make yourself comfortable."

          Kairi entered curiously, looking at everything. Sora's mother was still working and wouldn't come back until later, giving them some time alone.

          Kairi suddenly was giggling. Sora asked "What is it?"

          "Oh, it's just that you were so cute when you were little!" she said, looking at the family pictures on the table. Sora's face turned into a deep shade of red, then he decided they would be best settled at his room. He dragged Kairi up the stairs and both entered Sora's messy room.

          "A typical guy's room, I assume." said Kairi, smirking.

          "Hey, it's not *that* messy, I mean, there are worse things..."

          "For example, my own."

          "*You*, messy?"

          "That's right."

          "But, I thought that you being a girl and all..."

          "Hey, just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm not messy and lazy sometimes." said Kairi, suddenly picking up a pillow fro Sora's bed and tossing it right onto Sora's face.

          "Heey!" said Sora, picking the pillow up and throwing to Kairi, but she dodged it.

          "Ha, you throw like a girl!" she teased, ready to pick a pillow again, but Sora grabbed her hands to stop her  moving. He smirked.

          "Well, for a *girl*, you're being a lot more educated than I expected." said Sora sarcastically. Kairi laughed and tried to free herself, but with the struggling she suddenly tripped on the pillow and fell into Sora's bed - Sora on top of her, still holding her arms. 

          They looked at each other for a while, then both blushed madly. Sora quickly let go of her and sat on the bed. Kairi sat too, running a hand through her hair. They were very silent. Sora tried to think of something to sat to relieve the tension, and asked the question that has been bothering him up lately.

          "Kairi, why... why don't you have a boyfriend of something?" he asked slowly.

          Kairi's face was now about the color of her crimson hair. She thought for a minute, then sighed. "I... made a promise."

          "What?" asked Sora, confused.

          "You see, I... had a brother, Kail, and I liked him very much. Since my father had died, me, my mother and my brother had to survive on our own. Things were very tough, but we managed to get through. One day, though, Kail died on a car accident, and my mother got really upset." said Kairi, sadly.

          Sora tried to think of something to say, but she continued. "I saw her so sad, saying that I was her only hope now, that I made a promise to myself that I would be a perfect daughter, so I studied very much to be a model student, I tried to make myself more popular and pretty, and with all that, I didn't have time for boyfriends and such. Most of them were only interested in my body or looks, though, and I still haven't found one that I really love."

          "Oh..." was all Sora managed to say. He couldn't believe that Kairi, the seemingly perfect girl, had to go through all that. Sora's mother's voice rang through his brain, saying _you should never judge a book by its cover. _

          Kairi looked at her feet, uncomfortably. "You are probably my first male friend I have ever had in a long time. I'm just afraid, I guess, that they'll harm me, and with me harmed, I will harm my mother. But I was able to trust you... at that party, when we... you know..." she coughed a bit. "I felt confident, somehow, and I usually don't feel that way. That's why I wanted to be your friend, to get to know you... I mean, you have so many friends, and I kind of envy people who can be so cheerful and friendly so easily..."

          Sora looked at her, startled with the confession. He could see sincerity through the girl's eyes. He wanted to comfort her, but she would never let him. Would she? "Kairi, you don't have to fake anything with me, or with anybody else. Nobody will hate you just because you're not perfect. No one is perfect, and I'm sure your mother loves you either way."

          "How can you be so sure? I haven't told anybody about this before..." said Kairi, and then she wondered for a bit why was she feeling so comfortable sharing her secrets with him like that.

          "I know about that. And I like you very much."

          Kairi stared at Sora's eyes - eyes full of compassion, full of something familiar... but she couldn't work out what it was. She felt like she could stare at those eyes forever - it was like looking into an endless sea. Sora's heart was beating really fast; it would explode any minute now. However, soon he saw himself getting closer and closer to Kairi... his body wouldn't obey his mind (Which currently yelled "What are you doing, you idiot!") and he got closer until...

          He kissed her on the lips. Kairi closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment; she had to admit she had liked their last kiss, and that she had missed since then. Now, however, she wanted that moment to never end - Sora was thinking along the same lines. 

          RIIIIIIIIIIIIING

          _Damn telephone!_

Sora reluctantly backed away from their kiss and whispering a low "sorry" to Kairi, he went to pick it up.

          "Heya Sora, howzzit goin' with Kairi?" Guess who?

          "It was going FINE, Yuffie, but you ruined everything!" said Sora angrily. 

          "Oops, I just thought that, being the slow idiot you are, you would be needing some help with Kairi and you all alone in your house..." Sora could even hear Yuffie's smirk from the other side of the line.

          "Have you stopped to consider that _I _might have feelings too?"

          "You say that as if anyone actually cared. Anyway, if you don't need me, I'm going." said Yuffie, hanging up. _Finally._

          Sora hang up the phone and turned to see a crying Kairi sitting on his bed. He panicked, and asked hastily, "Hey, Kairi, what's wrong?"

          She sobbed. "It's - nothing, it's just that I- I'm so confused, you know..."

          The boy sat next to her, thinking. He sighed.

          "You know I'd never do anything to hurt you."

          "I know, I never thought you would..."

          "Then, why not give us a chance?" Sora asked, tentatively. 

          She looked at him, confused. Then Sora gave her another kiss, this one a bit longer, but still an innocent soft kiss on the lips.

          "What do you mean?" Kairi asked, slowly opening her eyes.

          "I mean - would you be my girlfriend?"

          The girl thought for a minute. What would she have to lose? Sora was a great boy, he was nice, she had much fun with him - sure, he wasn't popular, but who cared? She could give it a try, just to see how it went... 

          "Okay. I think... I think we can give it a try."

-+-+-+-+-+-

**A/N: **Okay, first of all, I hated this chapter. Almost no funny things... guess I'm running out of ideas. =D But I guess it was fluffy, right? Lol! I hope you liked it. Sora is together with Kairi (about time too!) and now let's hope the things between them work out ;) Also, did anyone get the Squffie hints in the beginning? =D Lol, I have been reading many Squffie fics lately, so I'm now a fan of that pairing as well, and I felt the need to add that little part! I just hope SquallxRinoa fans didn't get angry. =)

**A few personal thank yous:**

**juzlovnsora: **Hi again! I used a bit of your ideas for this chapter, but if I had put the "denying thing", the chapter would be too short, so I stretched a bit. Plus I had to put all those Kairi confessions... but anyways, glad you liked it ^_^ please keep reading and giving me ideas (hehe =D)

**MoonFlow-Kairi: **Wow! You loved my story! *does happy dance* I'm SO happy, you don't know how much that means to me. I was even thinking of writing a sequel if you guys want me to... of course not until this one is finished, which won't happen until chapters 12 or 13. Hey, I updated, so where's my popcorn? ;D lol

**BubbleFairy03: **Hey, did you have a good birthday? =D And I saw that InuYasha episode too, I laughed a lot at that part! Lol! Sango can be scary when she wants =D And yeah, I've read the KH manga, only the first volume which was the one they translated =) the TV show was confirmed?! WAAAAH! I HAVE to watch it! =D lol. It probably will never come out in my country, but anyway... =/

**Zilly: **I'll try it out someday ^_^ and thanks for finding my story so cool! *wipes away tears* =)

**AeRiS*dOnO & specter: **Thank you so much ^_^

Finished the endless thank yous that are bigger than the chapter itself, I'm taking off. See ya all next chapter =) Review pleeeeeease? *makes puppy eyes*

Tallis


	9. Subscribing to the competition

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square-Enix does. So, revert your urge to sue me to people who actually deserve it, 'kay?

-+-+-+-+-+-

SoraxKairi fic. Oh.My.God. This story reached **58 **reviews!!! I can't express how happy I am. Well, maybe I can, by posting this new chapter, how about it? Sorry to keep you waiting. Enjoy! =)

-+-+-+-+-+-

**CHAPTER 9 - Subscribing to the competition**

             "Wow, man, you mean you and Kairi are actually dating now?" Tidus asked, amazed.

             The boys were in their P.E. class, and today both classes were joined together because the teacher had an announcement to make. While they waited, Sora told them how his encounter with Kairi had been.

             "You are so lucky. No guy has ever gone out with Kairi before. You'll be famous." Riku said, smirking at his younger friend.

             "Aw, shut up. I'm asking you for advice. I've never had a girlfriend before..." said Sora, thinking.

             "Girls like to go to restaurants, ya" said Wakka with his usual weird accent. "You know, those fancy ones where you need a reservation and you have to borrow money from your parents, ya." As an afterthought he added, "Don't tell her that you borrowed the money, ya?"

             That moment the teacher Cloud spoke, sounding as emotionless as usual. "This weekend an event will take place here in the school, and I'd like you all to sign this list," Cloud took out a list from his notebook, and showed it to everybody, "Saying which tasks you would like to participate in. There are plenty of them - team racing, marathon, tug-of-war, you know - and you have to choose one or more. If you don't want to participate... Well, trust me, not participating is something you don't want to do." He gave the students a frightening look.

             Cloud gave the list to Sora first, and he looked at the possible things he'd like to do. When everyone had had the list, it looked like this:

(2-B) SORA: team racing, tug-of-war, secret challenge, marathon

(2-A) RIKU: team racing, tug-of-war, secret challenge, marathon

(2-A) WAKKA: team racing, tug-of-war, secret challenge, marathon

(2-B) TIDUS: team racing, tug-of-war, secret challenge, marathon

(2-B) YUFFIE: team racing, tug-of-war, secret challenge, marathon

(2-B) KAIRI: team racing, secret challenge, marathon

(2-A) SELPHIE: cheering team

(2-A) YUNA: cheering team

             Sora got a bit surprised that Kairi was going to participate instead of cheering, but he figured that Yuffie had been involved. After the class, they all headed to the cafeteria, and Sora sat at his usual table with Yuffie, Tidus, Wakka and Riku. While he was eating his beloved cookies, he saw Kairi entering the cafeteria, carrying her lunch bag.

             _She's probably going to sit with Selphie and Yuna_, Sora thought. However, he was wrong. Kairi walked past the table where the girls sat, and went straight to the table where Sora was, grinning.

             "Hi everyone!" Kairi smiled, sitting next to Sora and opening her lunchbag. She took out a sandwich and started to eat, as if she did that everyday. Sora found that a bit weird; surely, Kairi wouldn't want to affect her popularity by sitting with the weirdos at his table?

             But then, he remembered, she was his girlfriend now. Were they supposed to do everything together? That sounded a bit... claustrophobic, maybe? Kairi was a nice girl, though. It was good to spend time with her. And his friends were definitely supportive. Especially Yuffie, when she wasn't making fun of him.

             But, some guys from the table next to theirs were looking at them with confused looks. One of them came to the group's table. He had blond hair, and a strange black tattoo on the side of his face.

             "Hey, Kai, what's up?" said the guy suspiciously. "Why are you sitting here with these idiots? Come on, let's go outside and I'll show you something," he said, talking as if Sora and the others weren't listening.

             "No, Zell, I'm fine." Kairi said, sounding annoyed and maybe a little bit scared. But the guy named Zell insisted.

             "You can't be serious, Kai. You're staying here?" Zell tossed Sora a disgusted look.

             "Yes, I'm serious! Now leave me alone, I'm trying to eat." said Kairi. Zell pretended not to hear this. "But why?"

             "Because... Sora is my boyfriend!" she said, hoping this would end the subject and make the guy go away. Instead, however, he started laughing.

             "Sora? This little boy here is your boyfriend?! Haha, I can't believe it!" he turned to his friends at the next table. "Hey guys, guess what? Kai's got a boyfriend! It's that kid over there!" With that, all the guys roared with laugher, and the whole cafeteria went silent. Meanwhile, Sora looked at Kairi. She seemed really sad with what they were saying. Or was she sad because she didn't want a boy like Sora to be her boyfriend, and instead she wanted a handsome and popular boy like Zell?

             Kairi stood up, grabbed Sora by the arm and dragged him up the stairs. Sora could still hear the guys laughing down at the cafeteria, but Kairi wasn't stopping. She ran up all the staircases until they reached the last floor, the school roof. It was an open area in which they could see most of the city - it was a beautiful sight. But Sora couldn't focus on appreciating the view, for Kairi had started to talk.

             "I'm really sorry. I didn't think it would be so difficult." she said, looking down.

             "You don't need to be sorry. They're just... real jerks, that's what they are." said Sora in a cheery tone. But Kairi didn't look up.

             "I guess..." she didn't sound relieved by that either. Sora sighed, looking at the sky. It was very blue, like the sea, and there weren't any clouds in sight.

             "If we believe everything will be alright, if we have faith... nothing can go wrong," Sora said, watching two birds chasing each other playfully.

             "Yes, I suppose..." said Kairi, also looking at the birds.

             "And," continued Sora, "Believing... makes us stronger, you know? Because we know what we think we can do. I believe... that you and I can be happy, even if people like Zell don't want us to be happy. And I believe we should live each day like it could be our last. So, don't be afraid to be happy, even if you feel others are letting you down."

             A tear rolled down Kairi's cheek as she whispered, "Thanks, Sora." 

             Sora smiled, looking at her. She got closer, and looking deeply into his vibrant eyes, Kairi said, "I... want to kiss you now."

             "I might not be good at it," Sora blushed.

             "Of course you are good at it. We've done this before!" Kairi smirked. Sora had never seen Kairi smirk; it was a bit weird.

             "Yeah, but they were like, just a peck on the lips, not real kisses."

             "Enough of that!" Kairi leaned in closer to him and kissed him. It started really simply. Then Kairi decided to go further and used her tongue. Sora got a bit surprised by that, not having ever been kissed like that before, but enjoyed anyway. They spent a good five minutes in the "process," until the school bell rang and they were forced to stop.

             "I wonder what that secret challenge event will be?" Sora said out loud, walking with her to their class.

             "Oh, I just hope it's not something hard to do, like fighting." said Kairi.

             "Ah, fighting is easy." said Sora, imagining himself in a sword fight with Riku. They used to do that a lot, but Sora never got a real sword to fight with, and besides, Riku always won anyway. "I mean, if it's with swords, It'll be a piece of cake."

             "Really? You know how to fight with swords?" asked Kairi, amazed, when they reached class 2-B.

             "Yeah. I might teach you someday, how about it?" said Sora, trying to imagine naive and gentle Kairi trying to slice something with a sword. Now that would be something to watch.

             "That would be fun." she answered, entering the class and sitting on her usual place, Sora sitting behind her. It would be Math class, but Professor Aerith didn't show up.

          Professor Sephiroth entered the class, saying "Hello, class. Professor Aerith is very ill and couldn't come today, so I'll be taking her class for today. By the way, if the director asks, I had nothing to do with it, okay class? Right, now let's start from Lesson 5, How to Be The Coolest Villain Ever. MWAHAHAHA! Ahem."

-+-+-+-+-+-

**A/N: **Wow, this one took a while to come out. I mean, I already have chapters 10 and 11 written out, but I couldn't think of anything good for this chapter x_x so forgive the crappiness, pweaze? BUT, I have good news! I now have a kick-ass beta-reader, so thanks **Fruity and Delicious **for correcting my many mistakes!

**A few personal thank yous:**

**juzlovnsora: **Thanks again for your ideas. Please keep reading and reviewing ^_^

**BubbleFairy03: **I'm glad your b-day was great. TWO cakes?! Boy, you're lucky! =D I like plushies too, but I don't have one =/ a Kirara plush must be the cutest thing ever! ^_^ And yeah, get the heartless plush, I mean, it's all KH right? =D Oh well, I didn't really update much soon, do I guess I'm not getting a piece of cake... ;_; 

**fantasy-dude:  **Thanks! ^_^ I like cliffhangers, but tragic stuff? Hm... I don't think I'll add tragic stuff to this story 

(well, unless you don't count this chapter, that had a bit of tragic-ness O_o) because it's mainly humor. Thanks for

your review!

**MoonFlow-Kairi: **Yay! Popcorn! *sits eating popcorn* ^_^ lol! Me looves popcorn, especially in the movies.

**Kintora: **OMG, your review totally made me happy. =) Thanks a lot. By the way, I simply LOVE your stories, especially

When Love Blooms at Opposite Ends and Too Far Over the Edge (this one is sad, but got me thinking for a while... really

inspiring =) )

Don't you think that purple review button down there is sooo cute?! So, go ahead and press it, and make sure you drop a review too if you don't mind ;)

Tallis


	10. Competitions and Arguments

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square-Enix does. If I did own it, it would be really crappy and I'd be married to Sora (Riku or Leon wouldn't be bad either...). But unfortunetly, I don't, so don't sue me.

-+-+-+-+-+-

SoraxKairi fic. Chapter 10 is here! The day of the event! Who would think this fic would go so far? *wipes away tears* Lol, anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed! I love you SO much! =D Enjoy!

-+-+-+-+-+-

**CHAPTER 10 - Competitions and Arguments**

          Finally, it was the day of the several competitions Sora had signed up for. All of the students were gathered in front of the school, each one with special uniforms made for that day. The uniform for class 2-B was a blue T-shirt with the saying "Kingdom Masters" on the front, and the name of the student on the back. For class 2-A, the shirt was red and said "Cetra Warriors" in the front. There were several others, "Al Bhed Lions", "Yevonite Soldiers", "Darkness Raiders", "SeeD Generals", "Avalanche Eagles", and a few more. 

          There was also a cheering squad, which Selphie and Yuna were in. Selphie had said to Sora before that even if they weren't allowed to cheer for one person in particular, she'd be cheering for him. And there she was, dressed in the cheerleader uniform: a short yellow dress with the school emblem.

          Everybody was very excited. The director would make a speech that moment, so everyone stopped talking and turned to look at the judges balcony. But instead of the director actually appearing there, someone put a radio on top of the balcony and turned it on. A deep, gloomy voice came out of it.

          "Is this thing on? Geez, these stupid modern technologies... Okay, right, can everybody hear me? Good! Now, I'm the director, and you will all... follow my instructions, and your hearts will give in to the DARKNESS! THAT'S RIGHT! The darkness! MWAHAHAHAHA! Open your hearts to the dark-... what? Oh yeah, ahem, hem, well, the first competition is the team racing between classes 2-A and 2-B. Please choose your partners and meet Professor Cloud in the racing track..... WAAAH! THE LIGHT! THE LIGHT! SOMEONE CLOSE THE WINDOW! THE LIGHT!! WAAAAAH!!!!"_..._

"That director Ansem is a weird one, don't you think?" Tidus asked, confused like nearly everyone else at the school. "Anyway, let's make a team here. We can mix classes in this one so – Rikku, Wakka and me, and Sora, can stay with Yuffie and Kairi."

          "Hey, why do I have to stay with the girls?"

          "Okay then... Riku can go on your team, while Yuffie stays in ours."

          Sora smiled. Riku was the champion of races in their last school, and even when they were kids. But of course, Tidus didn't know about that. _We've got the advantage now, _Sora thought.

          "Alright... let's go then. I'll be the first to run." said Tidus, running to the racing track. 

          Sora looked for Kairi, and he saw that she was putting on a pretty gold necklace in the shape of a star. "Lucky charm," she said when she saw him looking at it. Soon they were all in their respective places at the track. Each one would have to run with a baton and hand it to the next person, and so on until they reached the finish line. Riku was first, Kairi second and Sora was last.

          "Alright... in your positions... ready… set…" said Cloud, ready to whistle the beginning of the competition. "GO!"

          After the whistle, Tidus ran like a tiger, making a circle and reaching Wakka. But Riku was already much ahead of them, and handed over the baton to Kairi in no time. Wakka was slow, even more so than Kairi, so she didn't have any trouble keeping ahead.

          The boys could hear Selphie and Yuna cheering in the background. "Go Kai! Go Kai! You can make it! You can make it!" they were shouting. Soon, Kairi reached Sora and, with a smile, handed him the baton. Sora ran very quickly - all those races with Riku had after all been for something - and before he knew it, he reached the finish line. They had won.

          "YEAH! SORA! SORA! Give me an S! Give me an O! Give me an R! Give me an A! SORAAA!" cheered Selphie, so loud that the other cheerleaders were covering their ears. 

          The team came running to the boys and said "Good job" to each other, while Yuffie punched Wakka and screamed "YOU'RE SO SLOW, DAMMIT!" When the group left, Kairi hugged Sora and whispered "You were really great!" in his ear.

          Sora felt like he could win against the entire school at that moment.

          "Now the classes 3-A, 3-B and 3-C will have racing competition. For classes 2-A and 2-B, tug-of-war, the Kingdom Masters versus the Cetra Warriors." The announcer was a weird cat sitting on top of a fat pink stuffed animal, holding a microphone. School couldn't be any weirder now.

          It wasn't going to be easy; class 2-A had stronger students than class 2-B. In Sora's classroom the only really strong guy was Tidus, while the other class had Riku and Wakka, both much stronger than him.

          Everyone positioned themselves along the rope, white lines on the floor marked the place where the ribbon in the middle of the rope would have to pass in order for one team to win. Soon, Cloud blew his whistle, so Sora pulled the rope with all his strength.

          Unfortunately... it didn't do much good. The other class was already winning – Sora's team was going to lose. However, luckily for them, Tidus was one heck of a great leader.

          "Okay everyone, when I say pull, everyone pull the rope together, understand?" he called to the class, and everyone made notes of agreement. Then he yelled "All right... PULL!"

          Everyone pulled together, and the rope came more to their side. "PULL!" Tidus yelled again. It seemed like they were going to win, but then, the entire class A tripped to the ground, while class B celebrated their victory.

          "Woohoo, Tidus, I didn't know you were so great in charge!" Yuffie teased. Tidus just rolled his eyes and at that moment, the cat's voice echoed again.

          "Classes 2-A and 2-B, please prepare for the marathon."

          The marathon would be the most difficult event, at least for Sora. It would be a run from the school around the streets of the island, especially closed for this event, and they would stop where the secret challenge would take place. Sora went to the starting line and positioned himself for the competition. He saw that Yuffie and Riku were glaring at each other from their places, clearly thinking, "I'm gonna beat you so hard you're gonna cry out for your mommy."

          Sensing that those two would never get along, Sora sighed and settled himself between Kairi and Wakka.

          "Ready? 1,2,3... GO!" The whistle blew, and everybody started to run along the track. Sora heard a bumping noise from behind and saw Wakka had fallen in the ground. "I'll be fine... I can't go on... continue without me..." he was holding his foot, like he'd sprained it.

          Sora twitched, then continued to sprint. Yuffie and Riku were tied up in first place, running like there was no tomorrow. Tidus was a bit behind, and then came Sora and Kairi - who proved to be a very good runner. 

          _Who knew Riku would find himself a rival? _Sora thought. Along the way there were teachers who counted the students and pointed them on in the right direction. Sora saw Aerith, and when they passed her, she gave them a smile. 

          Sora could hear perfectly well the argument which took place between Riku and (as usual) Yuffie.

          "Go away, you ninja brat!" Riku panted.

          But Yuffie managed to get ahead of him, and she yelled over her shoulder.

          "Ha, women make great leaders, wouldn't you agree? You're just following me!" Yuffie said, laughing over her shoulder at him.

          Riku scowled and ran faster to be in front. "You will learn not to mess with me, you crazy girl!"

          Sheesh, this was going to be a long run.

-+-+-+-+-+-

**A/N: **Now was I the only one who thought this was a boring chapter? =D It was fun to write though. I like to make up team names such as Kingdom Masters ^_^ It would be so cool if we had that in my school. I'd be in the cheering team, hee hee =D Also, our dear Ansem is here!!!  He'll appear again later, so don't worry. Anyway, thanks again **Fruity and Delicious** for ideas and for beta-reading! Next chapter: the secret challenge!

Waah, too lazy to write thank yous... please don't be mad okay! I still love you! =)

See ya next chapter!

Tallis


	11. You changed my life

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square-Enix does. Well, let's see if that's true after I invade Square-Enix headquarters with my giant finger of doom... MWAHAHA! *cough* *cough* I need water...

-+-+-+-+-+-

SoraxKairi fic. I planned this to be the last chapter, but then I decided to stretch a bit (it's pretty plotless from now on though!).And you'll finally discover why the name of the fic is Change My Life! Lol! Enjoy =)

-+-+-+-+-+-

**CHAPTER 11 - You changed my life**

          Sora, Kairi, Riku, Yuffie and Tidus were still running in the marathon. Surprisingly, Yuffie and Riku were still fighting over who should be in the first place. Not so much surprisingly, they couldn't reach an agreement. 

          They had passed three teachers on the way; Aerith, Leon and Cid. They'd have to go through four teachers, meaning they would be arriving soon. Tidus, though, was being left behind and soon the rest of the class had passed him.

          "Ah, forget it, I give up..." he collapsed.

          Sora saw the finishing line right ahead - he didn't know how, but he managed to keep a steady pace and stay right behind Yuffie and Riku during the entire marathon. Kairi came up a little behind him. She seemed really tired, but was willing to go until the end.

          "AHA!" yelled Yuffie when they reached the finishing line, where teacher Tifa awaited them happily. "I'm first! I've beaten you, you big-headed jerk-"

          "What? No way! I got here first!" Riku responded, though the truth was, they had won together. Sora doubted one of them would ever admit a draw. Well, at least he had gotten third (or second) place.

          "Congratulations both of you!" said Tifa to Yuffie and Riku, who scowled and crossed their arms. "Well... now for the secret challenge. I bet you're all curious to know what it is, right? Well, it's quite simple. Cloud and I hid several papers like this-" she showed the class a paper with the picture of a flower, "and all you have to do is divide in pairs and look for them in the park ahead, following the tips I'll give you."

          Sora paired with Kairi, while Yuffie was forced to pair with Riku. They looked like the teacher had just announced their death by decapitation. Tifa gave each of them a piece of paper with the clues.

          "Alright, is everyone ready? Then, GO!" she whistled, and everybody went into the park and started to read the clues. That didn't prove to be easy, as the park was full of trees which made the job of looking for a small paper much more difficult.

          "Okay, first tip... 'Behind the place where everything's delicious, the sun appears beautifully in the horizon.' Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" read Kairi said, looking at the paper. 

          "'A place where everything's delicious'..." Sora repeated, thinking. "Would that be the burger bar they have here in the park?"

          "We could try." said Kairi, and both headed to the burger bar, where other pairs were also trying to solve the puzzle. "Well, we can see the sun all right... so I guess that's it. The next tip... 'Do not lose yourself in your reflection, hide in the shadow of the palm tree.'" Kairi looked around. "Well, there's a palm tree right there." She pointed.

          They reached the palm, but that made no sense. Its shadow was pointing at the sea - how were they supposed to "hide" in it?

          "No, it can't be it... wait, it said that the sun appears in the horizon right?" asked Sora. Kairi nodded. "But the sun doesn't appear in the horizon until sunset! Meaning we'll have to wait here until the sun goes down." he finished, sitting down by the tree. Kairi sat next to him.

          Sora noticed that she was holding that star-shaped necklace. Examining it, he saw that the star was parted in two. _How strange. _"Hey, Kai, is that really a lucky charm?" the boy asked.

          Kairi suddenly blushed. "Well... I always saw it like that. My grandmother gave it to me. She said..." she paused for a moment, blushing even more, "She said that I should give the other half of the star to a person I found really special."

          Sora looked up, not really catching the meaning of said "special person". "That seems like a legend we have in my island. The legend of the paopu fruit."

          "Really?"

          "Yeah... they say that when two people share one, their destinies will be linked forever. I don't know if it's really true though."

          "Oh."

          They sat there in silence, the sunset almost arriving. Kairi sighed, grabbing her necklace, taking half of it and handing it to Sora.

          "Take it."

          "What? But didn't you say...?"

          "Let's think of that as a paopu fruit. We'll never know if it's true that we'll be linked forever until we try right?" Kairi smiled. "Besides... I find you a very special person to me. I guess you... really changed my life. For better."

          Sora stared at the small piece of the star. He smiled too.

          "Forever is a really long time, you know?"

          "I know. I'm willing to spend that whole time with you." said Kairi, giving Sora a hug. He hugged her back, slipping his fingers through her crimson hair. He then realized the sun was already in the horizon.

          "Hey... I got it!" said Sora, getting up.

          "Huh?"

          "Yeah! Look at the shadow of the palm tree - it leads to that open space right there! C'mon, what's the next tip?"

          Kairi took the paper and read it. " 'Keeping in mind your sportive spirit, walk 5 steps, turn around, and then you're out.' Okay, five steps..." she started to walk, but Sora stopped her.

          "No, no, see... 'Keep in mind your sportive spirit'. We have to run 5 steps!" he said. They ran, turned around, but there was nothing to see.

          "Right, so what now?" asked Kairi, looking around for any signs of the paper they were supposed to find. None. She looked down, disappointed. Then it hit her. "That's it! We have to dig!"

          "What?" Sora asked, while Kairi was digging into the ground hastily.

          "I found it!" Kairi took out the paper with the picture of a flower, and showed it to Sora, jumping up and down. They both ran to the encounter of Tifa, though unfortunetly they weren't the first group to get there.

          Riku and Yuffie arrived last a few minutes later, both arguing, as always. They probably didn't know the meaning of "team work" and tried to solve every tip quicker than the other one. Sora just laughed at them, still holding the half of Kairi's star. _I'll keep this really safe with me._

"I found the damn paper first, Kisaragi!"

          "Noooo way, er... what's your last name? Do you even _have _a last name? Oh, never mind! Sora, what are you laughing at?!"

          "Nothing. Nothing at all."

-+-+-+-+-+-

**A/N:** Yay for the clichés! Lol! =D I know the whole star thing may have sounded stupid, but I somehow found it cute, but a bit rushed... Aw, bear with me here =D Anyway, now that they're together for good, I'm going to add some more pairings and funny situations, and of course: people WILL try to break Sora and Kairi apart. Yeah, it makes the story more interesting, but still it's nothing too drastic... I'm not really much into writing angst =D So if you have any good ideas of what I can add to the story, feel free to do so! I appreciate!

I couldn't write personal thank yous to everyone, but some asked me questions so here:

**BubbleFairy03: **Lol, I like Ansem, so I'll put him again in a later chapter (next one I think). And you don'tm ind if I use your stalker idea do you? =D And the cat was Cait Sith, if you didn't notice ^_^ Hope to see you here next chapter! =)

**Surfing Aimlessly: **You think I could write a IY fic? I'll consider that ^_^ But first I'm gonna finish my KH stories, because I love them so much! =D And well, my favorite band is Linkin Park! ;)

**MoonFlow-Kairi: **I'm glad you liked it! *eating popcorn and soda* ^_^

See ya next chapter! Review pweaze! ^o^

Tallis


End file.
